Why playtesting?
In general, playtest is a test that determines if your game meets player experience goals throughout the entire design process. Playtesting aims to get helpful feedback from players to improve the game’s overall experience and ensure that the game works as intended and is internally complete, balanced, and fun to play.
In my case, as I continued to develop the game, I realized that playing it myself would make me less objective and that I might miss things. I also needed to see how other players interacted as I had intended.
In this playtesting cycle, I wanted to see how players perceived the overall game flow, what frustrations they encountered along the way, whether they felt like they were playing sloppily, and where they were having fun.
How I ran the playtest
First, prepare a game build. It didn’t have to be on the store, and as long as it worked well on my device, I could let people play with it.
I started interviewing the testers based on the script I’ve prepared, but before I do, I’ll make sure I have a video of them playing. I brought my GoPro and set it up to capture how they play.
One important thing is to ask them to verbalize their thoughts and what they see while playing. Usually, people are used to playing the game without saying anything, so I felt it was very important to observe their thoughts. If they do something unexpected in how they play or wonder why they did it, it’s important to ask questions to find out.
Playtest Interview Script I Used
Introduction
In the introduction, explain who I am and how this interview is proceeding briefly. If you are recording, make sure that the recordings are not shared externally and are used only to improve the game experience.
Hello there. First of all, thank you for taking the time to playtest the game I’m currently working on. I’m a developer doing game development as a hobby.
I’m running this test to see how well the game is meeting the player experience goals based on your feedback.
To give you a quick overview of how today’s test will work, you’ll first play the game and then we’ll talk about your experience.
The playthrough and discussion will be recorded for documentation purposes, so please understand that the recordings will only be used to improve the game experience and will not be shared externally.
Preparatory Discussion
If the tester is new to you, preparatory discussion can be used as an icebreaker. Through this discussion, you can find out the tester’s game style or taste.
Before we play, tell me a little bit about a game you’ve been playing lately or have enjoyed in the past.
- What do you like about those games?
- Where do you find these games and/or where do you play them?
- Tell us about any other games you’ve recently purchased.
Play Session
As mentioned above, it is important to let the tester verbalize their thoughts while playing. You don’t have to ask those four questions. You can pick and choose them to fit the situation.
If a player makes an unexpected or interesting play, it’s a good idea to ask them why they did it and make a note of it.
This game is still in development and may have bugs. This test aims to get feedback on your experience, not test your gaming skills. There are no wrong answers, and any problems you encounter while playing the game will help us improve the design.
It’s important to verbally express your feelings as you play. I want to hear what choices you make and what uncertainties you experience. For example, if there’s a button and you say, “I think this is an item button, should I click it? Oh no, then where is it?” etc.
[Screen Recording > Start Game]
[Example questions to ask while playing the game]
- Why did you make that choice?
- Do the rules seem complicated to you?
- What did you think would happen?
- What did you not understand well?
Discuss the Game Experience
Like the ‘Play Session‘, you don’t have to ask all the questions. You can pick and choose to fit the situation. Also, those questions can be changed by the purpose of the playtest.
- What is your overall feeling about the game?
- Were you able to clearly see the goal as you progressed?
- If you were to introduce this game to someone who didn’t know it, how would you describe it?
- Were there any parts of the game that slowed your progress?
- Were there any aspects that you particularly liked?
- Were there any moments in the game that you found particularly interesting?
- What choices did you make in the game?
- What were the most important choices?
- What was your strategy for winning?
- Did you find any loopholes in the system?
